Philippa Ballantine - Author

Award-winning Author of fantasy, science fiction, and steampunk

Geist

Celebrate good times!

It’s been a long time coming, and it’s something I will have to get used to- but it has happened. After ebooks, small presses, and riding the wave of podcasting- I can finally tell you all. I have reached that thing that I have been dreaming of for over a decade of active writing.

Yes, I have just confirmed that I will in fact be an Ace Books author. Ace is an imprint of Berkley Books (which is part of Penguin), and has a fine history. The deal is for two novels, with the possibility of more if those sell. The book in question is indeed Geist, and a to be named sequel.

This will take some major adjustment in my mind set- but as you can imagine is very VERY exciting. I can now say that like Scott Sigler and JC Hutchins I have moved into the big leagues. The names I will be joining in Ace include Ursula Le Guin, Tanya Huff, and Tad Williams to name but a few. These are stellar names, and it is a pleasure to be in the same stable.

This totally justifies my decision this year to go part-time in the corporate library, but I am not yet at the point where I can be a full time writer. That’s OK, I’m on my way. I expect there will be huge amounts of work ahead, but I am ready for it.

This would not have been possible without the assistance of three people. Gabrielle Harbowy who helped me edit Geist and get it ready for the big time. Laurie McLean, my agent, who is both an inspiration and a rock. And Tee Morris, who was my sounding board, kick in the pants and inspiration.

The final details are still being ironed out, and I will keep you all in the loop as things progress.  All I can say is…. YESSSSSSSSSS!

A Geist Story

The story I wrote, Geist is top of mind at the moment. This is the tale that I was motivated to write after my visit to America in 2007, when I got to rub shoulders with some of the most creative people I know- in both the writing and podcasting world.
Then a social media meme sprang up on Twitter among those same people, called Solidarity. Writers all over the globe posted their word count and supported each other to write more.

So Geist was born.

Deacon Sorcha Faris has plenty of supernatural problems and also her fair share of real life ones. A terrible riot caused by a geist attack has left her partner and husband badly injured and she is assigned a new partner that she doesn’t want. Merrick Chambers is young, talented and tormented by what he saw Sorcha do to his family years before. A good start to any partnership. As Active and Sensitive they are supposed to work seamlessly as a team. Sorcha wonders what their Abbot was thinking.
In the north, the Young Pretender to the throne that Sorcha’s Emperor now sits on, is struggling to find a safe harbor to make repairs to his ship. When Raed Rossin is offered the isolated village of Ulrich, he is grateful. However he cannot know that his ancient familial curse and the rising threat of the unliving will combine to make this place the most dangerous place for him to go.

The inspiration for the story is once again drawn from history. The world that Sorcha and her Deacons inhabit is based loosely on Imperial Russia, vast and packed with bickering Princes. The idea of an Emperor that was invited in to rule is not without precedent. George I of Greece and Haarkon VII of Norway were both born Danish princes.

The concept of the Deacons, who are sworn to protect the world from the unliving, came from several places. The Knights Templar might well have become the Deacons in another world. Organized in the same way as a religious order, they gave up the belief in what they call ‘the small gods’ in the face of a steady stream of paranormal attackers. While their weapons, the Gauntlet and the Strop hark back to ancient stories of artifacts imbued with special powers- the magical shield or sword of the Celts and Vikings.

And the challenges Sorcha faces… well I have always thought that in the fantasy genre real life personal crisises are not realistically portrayed. The hero rides off with the heroine and all is well. But what if the heroine chose the wrong person? What if like real life things changed? Hence Sorcha has to face the kind of turmoil people in our world know all too well.

So the supernatural, intrigue, dirigibles and a tormented heroine.